Mechanical time fuse



June 10, 1947. w

MECHANICAL TIME FUSE Filed April 1, 1943 INVENT OR.

ATTORNEY Patented June 10, 1947 MECHANICAL TIME FUSE- Maurice 1%.Whitney, Elmira, N Y.,. assignor to. BendixAviation Corporation, SouthBend, Ind a corporation of. Delaware Application April 1, 1943, SerialNo. 481,455

I g The. present invention relates toa combined point detonating andmechanical time fuse for explosive projectiles and more particularlyprojectilesto be discharged: from rifled cannon.

For certain types oi artillery service,.it is desirable to control thedetonation of projectiles by a timing device, and to'a-lso' provide fordetonation by impact on the target irrespective of the elapsed timeinterval.

Various methods have been. proposed for securing the desired results,but the structure heretofore disclosed has in general been subject tothe disadvantages. that. the. timeicontrol had to be considerablymodified to incorporate the contact detonator, and the attendantcomplication has tended. to reduc the efficiency of each of thecomponent controlling devices...

It is an. object of the present invention to provide a novel contact andtime controlled fuse which is efiicient and reliable in operation andsimple in construction.

It is another object to provide such a device in which the incorporationof the contact detonator involves no modification of the operatingmechanism. -of the time control.

It is another object to provide such a device in which there is aminimum of time lag between the actuation of the contact fuse and theignition of the base charge of the projectile.

Further objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical substantially mid-sectional view of the nose of ashell showing a preferred embodiment of the invention and;

Fig. 2 is a section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

In Fig. 1 there is illustrated the upper portion of a shell I ofconventional form containing a base charge 2 and having a threadedopening for receiving a closure plug and adapter 3 which serves toconfine the base charge in the shell and is internally threaded toprovide a seat for the base 4 of a timer mechanism for controlling theignition of the charge 2.

The base 4 of the fuse is formed with a cylin- The timing mechanism maybe. of any conventional form such, for instance, as the type illustratedthe patent to Junghans. Number 1,693,516,. and has at its. upper end a.skeleton timing disk Lt adapted tolhe rotated by the gearing of theclock-work in v order to control the detonation ofv the shell.

The lower end of the. base 4 of the fuse is provided. with a chamber [2in which is mounted an annular-powder bag l3-which is retained by a plugl4 threaded in-said base and provided with a passage l5 adapted toconnect with a. passage 16. through the adapter 3'. which communicateswith. the. interior of the shell holding. the base charge 2..

According to the present invention a contact detonating mechanism isplaced in. the nose of the fuse and. is. arranged. to causev the. sh llto explode upon. impact of the fuse with a. target. As here shown thismechanism comprises a firing pin [T slidably mounted in a bearing member18 in position to strike a cap [9- of suitable fulminating material,carried in a threaded bushing 2]... Primary explosive charge 22 ismounted in the nose of the fuse beneath the cap ls 'and directly abovethe retainer 1' of the timing mechanism which is provided with anopening 24 permitting the flame from the primary charge 22 to penetratethe time fuse mechanism. An explosive pellet 23 is mounted in thebushing 2| adjacent the cap l9 so as to be exploded by the cap tothereby ignite the charge 22.

In order to permit the flame from the charge 22 to reach the powder bagl3, the top plate 20 of the casing for timing mechanism 6 is providedwith apertures 30, and said casing has axially extending channels 25 soformed therein as to register with passages 26 provided in the based ofthe fuse to connect the socket 5 thereof with the powder bag chamber l2.

In order to prevent premature or undesired actuation of firing pin [1,locking means therefor is provided in the form of a pair of latchmembers 21, 28 which normally engage beneath a shoulder 29 of the firingpin to prevent its being projected into engagement with the cap IS. Thelatch members 21, 28 are yieldably held in normal position by suitablemeans such as a spring 3|, but are movable by centrifugal force radiallyoutward so as to free the firing pin and thereby arm the fuse.

The fuse is enclosed by a casing member 32 of the usual ogive form whichis retained on the fuse by any suitable means such as by tongues 33pressed inwardly to engage beneath a flange that the firing pin I1 isprevented from engaging the cap I9 by the locking members 21, 28; (Whenthe shell is discharged from a rifled gun, the.

rotation of the shell caused by the rifiing causes the members 21, 28 tomove radially thus releas-.

ing the firing pin l1 and rendering the fuse sensitive to impact.

If the timing mechanism is so set as to be operative prior to impact onthe target, the shellwill be exploded thereby after the predeterminedtime interval has elapsed. However, if the shell contacts the targetearlier than expected; the impact against the target will cause thefiring pin I! to engage and fire the cap I9 which in turn ignites theprimary charge 22. Flame from the charge traverses the opening '24 ofthe retainer I, passes through the openings in the timing disk I I intothe passages 25, and through the passages 26 into the powder bag chamberI2, thus igniting the powder bag I3, the flame from which passes throughthe opening I6 into the base charge chamber and ignites the charge 2.

Itwill be seen that the two detonating devices operate independently andwithout requiring modification of their operating mechanism in order toaccomplish the dual form of control. Moreover since the connection fromthe contact fuse to the powder bag I3 is accomplished by means of flamepropagation rather than by any mechanical device involving inertia,there is a minimum of time lag between the actuation of the contactcontrol and the ignition of the base ch'arge.

Although but one embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed in detail, it will 4 be understood that other embodiments arepossible and various changes may be made in the form and arrangement ofthe parts without departing from the spirit of the invention as definedin the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is: I

In an explosive projectile for rifled cannon, a compound fuse comprisinga base having a cylindrical socket, a time control mechanism seated inthe socket comprising cylindrical casing,

operating gearing mounted therein and a perforated timing disc outsideof the casing, a cupshaped retainer enclosing the time control mechanismand holding it in the socket, said retainer having an opening above thedisc, a contact igniting device including a primary charge mounted inthe fuse above the time control mechanism, and a secondary charge forigniting the base charge of the projectile in said base beneath thesocket; said cylindrical casing having axially arranged exteriorchannels communicating with the space beneath the timing disc, and thebase having openings registering with the channels thereby completingpassages for conducting the fiame from the primary charge through theopenings in the retainer and timing disc to the secondary charge.

' MAURICE P. WHITNEY.

REFERENCES SJITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

. UNITED STATES PATENTS Number I Name Date 1,462,314 Woodberry July 17,1923 1,567,232 Brayton Dec. 29, 1925 2,236,495 Birkigt Mar. 25, 19412,190,157 Junghans Feb. 13, 1940 2,183,073 Honger Dec. 12, 19401,312,112 Groff Aug. 5, 1919 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 272,226Great Britain 1928 308,499 Germany Oct. 13, 1919

